Manual conlock

ABSTRACT

A manually vertical coupling device for disengageably securing a freight container to another container or to a loading platform. The coupling device is a separate unit having turnable twistlocks extending in opposite directions, which twist-locks in an initial position are insertable in elongate apertures in the corner castings of a container. The body of the coupling device is a solid mass having a through shaft turnably journalled therein. The shaft is integral with the twist-locks and is manually actuatable between a non-clamping position and a clamping position for securing the containers.

United States Patent Backteman et al.

[ MANUAL CONLOCK [75] Inventors: Hans Ulrich Backteman, Bromma;

Richard John Taylor, Johanneshov, both of Sweden [73] Assignee: ABBacktemans Patenter, Bromma,

Sweden 22 Filed: Feb. 1, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 222,572

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 12, 1971 Sweden 1850/71 [52]US. Cl. 105/366 B, 248/119 R, 248/361 R [51] Int. Cl B65j 1/22, B61d45/00 [58] Field of Search 105/366 B, 366 D;

296/35 A; 214/10 SS; 248/119 R, 361 R; 24/81 E, 221 R, 230.5 TD, 265 CD[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,963.310 12/1960 Abolins..105/366B [11] I 3,820,474 [451 June 28,1974

3,085,707 4/1963 Tantlinger 105/366 B 3,140,671 7/1964 Kozak et a1.3,389,663 6/1968 Gutridge 105/366 B 3,578,374 5/1971 Glassmeyer 9/1972Backteman et a1. 248/361 R Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Attorney,Agent, or FirmSpencer & Kaye [57] ABSTRACT A manually vertical couplingdevice for disengageably securing a freight container to anothercontainer or to a loading platform. The coupling device is a separateunit having turnable twist-locks extending in opposite directions, whichtwist-locks in an initial position are insertable in elongate aperturesin the corner castings of a container. The body of the coupling deviceis a solid mass having a through shaft turnably journalled therein. Theshaft is integral with the twist-locks and is manually actuatablebetween a non-clamping position and a clamping position for securing thecontainers.

8 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure MANUAL CONLOCK The present invention broadlyrefers to manually operable vertical coupling devices for disengagablysecuring a freight container to another container and/or to a loadingplatform.

The previously known coupling devices of manually operated type have notbeen easy enough to handle, and the previously known devices haveneither embodied enough strength to be able to resist the great stressesencountered during transportation of large containers without risk ofdamage, thus leading to operational difficulties or in the worst casebeing completely collapsed and unusable.

The above indicated drawbacks of the previously known devices areeliminated in accordance with the present invention relating to amanually operable vertical coupling device for disengagably securing afreight container to another container and/or to a loading platform,said device being a separate unit provided with turnable twist-locksextending in opposite directions, said twist-locks in an initialposition being insertable in elongate apertures in corner castings of acontainer. The invention is characterized in that the body of thecoupling device is a solid mass having a through shaft turnablyjournalled therein, said shaft being integral with the twist-locks andmanually actuatable between a non-clamping position and a clampingposition for securing the containers.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described withreference to the attached drawing, which in a perspective view shows acoupling device according to the invention seen from the side providedwith the operating handle, some underlying portions being shown bybroken lines.

The coupling device according to the invention comprises a solid body 1preferably cast or swaged in one piece. A turnable shaft 3 is rotatablyjournalled in the solid body 1 and extends in opposite directions fromthe solid body 1 and through holes provided in guides or filling pieces6, which are an integral part of said solid body 1. The shaft 3extending through the holes in the guides 6 is provided with lockingmembers, hereinafter called twist-locks, outsidc the guides, saidtwistlocks being integral with the shaft 3 and indicated on the drawingas an upper member 4 and a lower member 5. The solid body 1 is at 2recessed from the outer end and towards the center where the turnableshaft 3 is journalled. An operating pin 9 or the like is affixed to theshaft 3 within the recess or aperture 2 and extends outwardly within therecess 2. Retention means in the form of spring clips 7, 8 are providedon the end surfaces of the solid body facing the recess 2 in order toretain the operating pin 9 and thus also the shaft 3 in one of the twoend positions. A handle 10 or the like can be disengagably secured tothe pin 9, as is shown with dotted lines on the drawing, said handlebeing used to assist the manual manipulation of the shaft 3. Thetwist-lock 5, which on the drawing is shown as the lower twist-lock isangularly displaced a small angle in relation to the twist-lock 4, whichon the drawing is shown as the upper twist-lock, by reasons which willbe indicated later.

When a coupling device according to the invention is to be used thelower twist-lock on the drawing is turned by the pin 9 and the handleinto a position, wherein said twist-lock 5 is aligned with the lowerguide or filling piece 6. In this position the lower twist-lock 5 andthe guide 6 may be inserted in the elongate aperture of the cornercasting of a container and then the shaft 3 can be turned back by thepin 9 and the handle 10 to the position shown on the drawing, whereinthe lower twist-lock 5 is angularly displaced in relation to theelongate aperture of the corner casting and thus, the coupling devicewill be secured to the container. From the labour security point of viewit is preferable to use the coupling device in an up-side down position,thus inserting the indicated lower twist-lock 5 and the guide 6 into abottom corner casting of a lifted container since when the pin 9 hasbeen turned back to the position shown on the drawing the couplingdevice will suspend from a container and hence. the hazardous work ofclimbing a stack of containers is eliminated. In said position, whereinthe couplingdevice is secured to a container, the twist-lock 4, on thedrawing being shown as the upper twist-lock, is aligned with the guideor filling piece 6 and when a container provided with coupling devicesaccording to the invention is lowered upon an underlying container thetwist-lock 4 and the guide 6 can be inserted into the upper cornercasting of the underlying container. Then the pin 9 is turned by thedisengagably mounted handle 10 to the left in the drawing into the otherend position, wherein it will be engaged by and retained by theretention means 8. In this position the twist-lock 4, being the uppertwist-lock on the drawing, is angularly displaced over the elongateaperture of the corner casting and hence, the two containers are clampedto each other. The above indicated angular displacement between the tworemotely arranged twist-locks 4, 5 in relation to the same verticalplane is not restricted to a certain angle but can be determinedaccording to circumstances between 10 and however, presently an angulardisplacement of about 30 is preferred. When in such a case the shaft 3and the twist-lock 4 are turned in relation to the position wherein thetwist-lock 4 is aligned with the guide 6, the twist-lock 5, on thedrawing shown as the lower twist-lock, will be displaced 60 in relationto the elongate aperture of the corner casting. This is an angle valuewhich will guarantee positive and secure clampmg.

When the cargo has arrived at the place of destination the containersare to be removed and released from each other. This can be done afterthat the pin 9 has been turned into the position shown on thedrawing, inwhich position the upper twist-lock 4 is aligned with the guide 6. Thenthe container can be lifted and the guide 6 and twist-lock 4 can beremoved from the aperture of the cornercasting. The coupling deviceaccording to the invention is permitted to suspend from the containeruntil the container has been lowered to the ground level, where astevedore can turn the pin 9 by the handle 10 into the position, whereinthe twistlock 5, shown on the drawing as the lower twist-lock, isaligned with the guide 6, and in this position the coupling deviceaccording to the invention can be removed from the container. As can beseen from the drawing the twist-locks 4, 5 are dimensioned partlysomewhat narrower and partly somewhat shorter than the guides 6 in orderto safeguard against inadvertent retainment during unloading. Since thetwist-locks 4, 5 are somewhat narrower than the guides 6 and hence alsosomewhat smaller than the elongate aperture of the corner casting, whichsubstantially is conforming with the guides 6, unlocking will take placealso if a small incorrectness should occur in the orientation, e.g. bydirt or wearing, and hence, the risk for inadvertent retainment of thecontainer in the beginning of the unloading operation is eliminated.

The twist-locks 4, 5 shown on the drawing can be of any preferredconfiguration, but on the drawing the lower twist-lock 5 is shownsomewhat smaller than the twist-lock 4 due to weight and material savingreasons, due to which reasons also some apertures may be made in thesolid body 1. The twist-lock 4 has preferably a somewhat conicalconfiguration in order to facilitate the insertion thereof in the cornercasting of the container during lowering of a container upon anunderlying container. The body 1 of the coupling device may of course beprovided with a gripping handle or the like in order to facilitate thehandling thereof.

The coupling device according to the present invention can sustain thegreat stresses, which previously resulted in damage and collapse inconnection with previously. used devices. This is achieved by the factthat the coupling device according to the invention has a solid body 1withstanding the stresses exerted by the containers. Due to the factthat the guides or filling pieces 6 are situated within the elongateapertures of the corner castings and the twist-locks 4, 5 are situatedwithin the corner castings no force is exerted where the turningmovement of the operating pin 9 is taken place. Due to this, the deviceaccording to the invention operates in a very secure way without anyrisk for damage or interruption of the operation.

The illustrated and described embodiment of the invention may bemodified in many ways as is appreciated by the expert, saidmodifications being covered by this patent when they fall within thescope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a manually operable vertical coupling device for disengageablysecuring a freight container to another container or to a loadingplatform, said coupling device being a separate unit which includesturnable twistlocks extending in opposite directions, said twist-locksin an initial position being insertable in elongated apertures in thecorner castings of a container, the improvement comprising anon-compressible solid body, a through shaft tumably journalled in thecenter of said body, said shaft being integral with the twist-locks andmanually actuatable between a non-clamping position and a clampingposition for securing the containers and being capable of having a pinattached thereto, and a recess in said body extending from an outer endtwoards the center of said body and having a height equal to that ofsaid body for permitting such pin to be connected to said shaft and toextend outwardly therefrom for manual actuation of the twist-locksbetween the non-clamping position and the clamping position and toindicate the position of the twist-locks in relation to the elongatedaperture of the corner castings.

2. A coupling device according to claim 1 further comprising a pinconnected to said shaft for manual actuation of the twist-locks.

3. A coupling device according to claim 1, wherein said recess is in theform of a cut-away portion.

4. A coupling device according to claim 1, wherein the twist-locksextending in opposite directions are mutually angularly displaced inrelation to the same vertical plane.

5. A coupling device according to claim 4, wherein the relative angulardisplacement is to between 10 and 6. A coupling device according toclaim 1, wherein the coupling device further comprises retention meansto secure the pin connected to the shaft in the container clampingposition and/or in the container nonclamping position.

7. A coupling device according to claim 6, wherein the retention meansare spring clips mounted on the surfaces of the recess, said springclips retaining the pin in locking position.

8. A coupling device according to claim 1, comprising a detachableoperating handle mounted on the pin extending from the shaft in order tofacilitate the manual operation of the twist-locks.

1. In a manually operable vertical coupling device for disengageablysecuring a freight container to another container or to a loadingplatform, said coupling device being a separate unit which includesturnable twist-locks extending in opposite directions, said twist-locksin an initial position being insertable in elongated apertures in thecorner castings of a container, the improvement comprising anon-compressible solid body, a through shaft turnably journalled in thecenter of said body, said shaft being integral with the twist-locks andmanually actuatable between a non-clamping position and a clampingposition for securing the containers and being capable of having a pinattached thereto, and a recess in said body extending from an outer endtwoards the center of said body and having a height equal to that ofsaid body for permitting such pin to be connected to said shaft and toextend outwardly therefrom for manual actuation of the twist-locksbetween the non-clamping position and the clamping position and toindicate the position of the twist-locks in relation to the elongatedaperture of the corner castings.
 2. A coupling device according to claim1 further comprising a pin connected to said shaft for manual actuationof the twist-locks.
 3. A coupling device according to claim 1, whereinsaid recess is in the form of a cut-away portion.
 4. A coupling deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the twist-locks extending in oppositedirections are mutually angularly displaced in relation to the samevertical plane.
 5. A coupling device according to claim 4, wherein therelative angular displacement is to between 10* and 80*.
 6. A couplingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the coupling device furthercomprises retention means to secure the pin connected to the sHaft inthe container clamping position and/or in the container non-clampingposition.
 7. A coupling device according to claim 6, wherein theretention means are spring clips mounted on the surfaces of the recess,said spring clips retaining the pin in locking position.
 8. A couplingdevice according to claim 1, comprising a detachable operating handlemounted on the pin extending from the shaft in order to facilitate themanual operation of the twist-locks.